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Canadiens New HOF Packed With Cards, Memorabilia

It’s part museum and part shrine, but collectors will appreciate the mountains of memorabilia inside the new Montreal Canadiens’ Hall of Fame.The Montreal Canadiens new team Hall of Fame includes an impressive collection of game-worn and game-used hockey memorabilia and cards.

Located at the team’s home rink, the Bell Centre, the museum explores the history of the Canadiens, the players and the achievements that made them the most celebrated franchise in hockey. The club held a grand opening last week.

Designed with the collaboration of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, the Hall features an impressive collection of milestone sticks and pucks, skates, memorabilia and artifacts commemorating the achievements and accomplishments of those who have donned the Canadiens jersey since the team’s foundation in 1909.

Among the items on display include pads and a chest protector used by goalie Bill Durnan in the 1940s, the game-worn leather cap used by 1920s star Aurel Joliat, the crutches Howie Morenz used just before he died tragically in hospital after breaking his leg in 1937, and a faded game-worn 1912 sweater that pre-dates the NHL.

Game-used gear from former stars Maurice (Rocket) Richard, Jean Beliveau and Dickie Moore join those of the modern era. The puck Yvon Lambert shot to score the game-winning goal in Montreal’s come-from-behind victory over the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of 1979 semifinals is also displayed.

Montreal collector Allan Rubin was a major contributor to the project, loaning hundreds of hockey cards in top grade, some going back to the Canadiens first season in 1909-10.

You’ll also find Wayne Gretzky’s sticks, pucks and jerseys, and artifacts from rivals like the Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Canadiens Hall of Fame tour begins with an overhead display featuring the 54 members of the franchise enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Footsteps away, the discovery gets underway with a collection of Montreal Canadiens hockey cards featuring players from the franchise’s first 100 years of existence. The signature displays include an exact replica of the Montreal Forum dressing room as it was during the Canadiens record-setting 1976-77 season, and a train car similar to those the Canadiens traveled on until the 1950s. The treasure-filled exhibit also features jerseys, sticks and equipment used by legendary Canadiens from Howie Morenz to Patrick Roy, including icons such as Maurice Richard, Jean Béliveau and Guy Lafleur

State-of-the-art technologies are an integral part of the Montreal Canadiens Hall of Fame and enhance each visit to the Hall. Screens and interactive displays provide visitors with a host of options such as a query with Canadiens legend Jean Béliveau. Touch screens and multimedia equipment enable visitors to browse though the biographies of all 54 members of the Canadiens inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

A number of former Canadiens players and other individuals agreed to share personal objects and mementos for the benefit of the visitors.

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About Rich Mueller

Rich is the editor and founder of Sports Collectors Daily. A broadcaster and writer for more than 30 years and a collector for even longer than that, he's usually typing something somewhere. Type him back at [email protected]